[Press Release] — Abuja, April 13, 2023 – The Nigeria Off-Grid Market Acceleration Program (NOMAP), a donor-funded programme focused on accelerating off grid energy access in Nigeria, has convened a high-level stakeholder event to discuss how to finance off-grid renewable energy solutions targeted at productive use for rural communities and marginalized groups.
The event, which brought together key stakeholders across the energy and other related sectors including relevant government agencies, donor partners, development finance institutions, commercial banks, off-grid energy companies among others, provided opportunities for sharing of insights that will shape the delivery and impact of ongoing energy interventions in Nigeria that are targeted at productive use of energy.
In his welcome remarks, Adedotun Eyinade, the Program Director, NOMAP, said that the stakeholder convening was inspired by the need to build on the collective progress made in the sector, and to foster learning and collaboration.
“We are grateful to be complimenting the work of government, donor organizations, mini-grid developers, solar home system companies and many other stakeholders too numerous to mention. As a market accelerator, we pay a great deal of attention to engaging all our stakeholders as a strategy to deepening our understanding of issues and how that can help design human centered solutions to challenges facing the sector”, he said.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Ahmad Salihijo, who was represented by his Special Adviser, Barbara Izilein, said that the productive use of energy will ensure that energy access is not only available, but utilized to its full potential.
“By harnessing energy to drive productive activities, we can create jobs, increase incomes, and improve the living standards of millions of Nigerians where these solutions are being deployed,” she said.
The stakeholder convening also featured panels on ‘Productive Use Beyond Mini-Grid Viability’, which explored the socio-economic impact of productive use of energy interventions and how it can deliver inclusive impact for women and marginalized groups; and “Financing Options for Productive Use”, which explored the various financing options and business models options for productive use initiatives in the country.
The Nigeria Off-Grid Market Acceleration Programme (NOMAP) was established in 2018 through a partnership between the Shell Foundation, the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and USAID Power Africa under their Scaling Off Grid Energy Grand Challenge for Development (SOGE) partnership.
NOMAP is managed by a small team of professionals with experience across key areas of the off-grid energy sector including finance, business, policy regulation, and development economics.
NOMAP works to accelerate the off-grid energy market in Nigeria through:
- Intelligence and Insights: Providing data, analysis, intelligence, and insight to off-grid energy companies, development partners, government, and other stakeholders.
- Policy and Regulatory Support: Engaging and supporting the public to create effective policies and a conducive enabling environment to increase off-grid energy uptake.
- Direct Interventions: Undertaking direct interventions to prove concepts that can reduce the off-grid energy market barriers and accelerate energy access.
Through these interventions, NOMAP has been to identify over 15,000 communities viable for mini-grid and solar home systems (SHS) deployment across 30 states in Nigeria. It has also collected granular data on over 150 viable mini-grid communities to support mini-grid development. These sites are currently in use by the Rural Electrification Agency with mini-grid companies bidding to develop mini-grids there under the Minimum Subsidy Component of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).
It has also facilitated the sale of over 8,550 SHS products through its Single Point of Integration (SPOI) platform, and the processing of about 150,000 transactions valued at N370 million as at the end of March 2023.
This is in addition to providing $240,000 in financing to 3 mini grid developers for the purchase of equipment for productive use for community residents across 18 mini grid communities.
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